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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

HM LST-324

LST-324 was transferred to the United Kingdom for the duration of World War II
LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 10 August 1942, at Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, PA.
  • Launched, 5 November 1942
  • LST-324 never saw active service with the United States Navy
  • Transferred to the United Kingdom under terms of the Lend-Lease Act
  • Royal Navy History
  • Commissioned into the Royal Navy as HM LST-324, 23 January 1943
  • HM LST-324 sailed from New York in company with HM LST-412 and HM LST-421, 13 March 1943 transporting refinery equipment to Curacao
  • From Georgetown, Curacao HM LST-324 set sail for Freetown, Sierra Leone
  • HM LST-324 participated in the following campaigns:
    Sicilian occupation
    Salerno landings
    West Coast of Italy operations-1944 - Anzio-Nettuno advanced landings
    Invasion of Normandy
  • Operated in the shuttle service between Tilbury, Ostend and Antwerp
  • Assisted in the liberation of the Channel islands
  • HM LST-324 was reassigned to the Pacific Theater and participated in the Invasion of Malaya.
  • Paid off and returned to the US Navy at Subic Bay, Philippines, 4 May 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 3 July 1946
  • Final Disposition, sold, 13 February 1948, to Bosey, Philippines, fate unknown
    Specifications: (as reported by Office of Naval Intelligence-1945)
    Displacement 1,625 t.(lt), 4,080 t.(fl) (sea-going draft w/1675 ton load)
    Length 328' o.a.
    Beam 50'
    Draft
    (light) - 2' 4" fwd, 7' 6" aft
    (sea-going) 8' 3" fwd, 14' 1" aft
    (landing) 3' 11" fwd, 9' 10" aft (landing w/500 ton load)
    Speed 12 kts. (maximum)
    Endurance 24,000 miles @ 9kts. while displacing 3960 tons
    Complement
    7 officers, 104 enlisted
    Troop Accommodations
    16 officers, 147 enlisted
    Boats 2 LCVP
    Cargo Capacity (varied with mission - payloads between 1600 and 1900 tons)
    Typical loads
    One Landing Craft Tank (LCT), tanks, wheeled and tracked vehicles, artillery, construction equipment and military supplies. A ramp or elevator forward allowed vehicles access to tank deck from main deck
    Additional capacity included sectional pontoons carried on each side of vessel amidships, to either build Rhino Barges or use as causeways. Married to the bow ramp, the causeways would enabled payloads to be delivered ashore from deeper water or where a beachhead would not allow the vessel to be grounded forward after ballasting
    Armament
    1 - 12 Pounder anti-aircraft multi-barrel mount
    6 - 20MM mounts
    4 - Fast Aerial Mine (FAM) mounts
    Propulsion two General Motors 12-567, 900hp diesel engines, two shafts, twin rudders
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Source
    LST-324 14k HM LST-324 heads for the Anzio beachhead, January 1944. Note the barrage balloon which was often flown from LST's to discourage strafing attacks by low-flying planes. Also of note is the British surface-search radar above LST-324's wheelhouse US Navy DANFS
    LST-49 370k LSTs land invasion supplies on "Omaha" Beach, shortly after the 6 June 1944 "D-Day" assault.
    LSTs on the beach include from (right to left):
    USS LST-312
    HM LST-320
    HM LST-321
    USS LST-72
    USS LST-51? last digit not visible)
    HM LST-324
    USS LST-311
    USS LST-49
    USS LST-373
    USS LST-47 and two unidentified LSTs.
    Note: bow numbers of the British ships enclosed in colored blocks; crowd of shipping offshore; barrage balloons over many of the ships. Photo was released for publication, 23 October 1944
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-46817 a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.     		Riley R. Re Qua MoMM3/C USS LST-49 and Arthur L Long MoMM2/C USS LST-49
    LST-324 61k HM LST-324 sailing proudly up the Solent after returning from the Normandy beachhead sometime in June 1944. The dustbin aerial of her Type 217P radar unit can be seen just below the flags on her mast. Robert Hurst
    LST-412 50k HM LST-324 and HM LST-412 unloading logs at Freetown, Sierra Leone, date unknown. Robert Hurst
    LST-324 30k HM LST-324 beached at Sandakan, 27 October 1945. North East Borneo Force while loading tools and medical supplies. Australian War Memorial
    View the LST-324
    DANFS history entry located at the US Naval Historical Center
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Fleet Reserve Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    The USS LST Ship Memorial
    LST Home Port
    State LST Chapters
    United States LST Association
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Amphibious Ship Type Index Back To The Tank Landing Ship (LST) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    © 2005 Gary P. Priolo © 1996 - 2009 NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.
    Last Updated 30 January 2009